Plankton part 6

Conclusion:
In my hypothesis I stated that I belived there would be nine diferent species of plankton. I was half correct, I did find nine diferent species of plankton but I was only able to identify six of them.

Posible Sources of Error:
My sketches might not have been acurate enough to get a positive ID.
I might have mistaken a grain of sand or other non planktonic life for a plankton or vice versa.
the samples might have been contaminated or disturbed.
the microscopes might not have caught all of the plankton that were in the sample.

Plankton part 5

Data: I found nine diferent planktons but I was having a hard time identifying them.
I have pictures of only a couple of the plankton though.



Data analysis: The scientific names of the plankton that I found and identified are as folows;
sappharina
hyperiid amphipods
calanus
metatrochophore larva (spionidae)
tigropus
oncaea cyclopoid



The identified plankton pictured are as folows from top to botom on the left marjin of the page;

The first picture on the top is, sappharina

The photo in the middle is, hyperiid amphipods

The last photo, the one on the botom, is called, oncaea cyclopoid copepod

Plankton part 4

Lab Procedure:

conventional microscope:
1. place 10 drops of plankton water in to each depresion
2. place a drop of the magic slow liquid in to each depresion
3. plug microscope in to wall socket and turn on lite
4. place samples under microscope
5. using the smallest magnification (10x) adjust the stage using the black nobs on the side till sample area is clear
6. once in focus sketch plankton in your journal
7. identify plankton using marine i.d. books
8. record number of diferent plankton species from your sample in to your book

Pro scope:
1. cover the botom of sample dish in plankton water and insert 2 drops of the slowing solution
2. plug pro scope in to computer and make sure the lense is attached corectly
3. select the pro scope's program from the start menu and initiate it
4. attatch pro scope to its stand using the black screw
5. adjust inclination of the proscope till the end of the lense is in the liquid
6. using slight adjustments with your hands to manipulate the angle of the pro scope, adjust the focus
7. once in focus sketch plankton in your journal
8. identify plankton using marine i.d. books
9. record number of diferent plankton species from your sample in to your book

Plankton part 3

Data:
Wind: mild
Weather: sunny
Wave Action: calm
Temp: 25.2*
pH: 8.4
Tide: Low
Salinity: 21%
Dissolved Oxygen: 2
Nitrates: 1
Phosphates: 1
Turbidity: 0jtu

Plankton part 2

Question: How diverse are the plankton species of south maui?

Hypothesis: I believe there will be nine types of plankton.

Materials: plankton net, line (rope), research area, journal, microscope, slides, pippet, jars, slip, ID book, pen, nitrates kit, phosphates kit, turbidity kit, disolved oxygen kit, refractometer, fancy thermometer.

Field Procedure:
1. put net in water and tow for 3 minutes
2. place sample in jar
3. colect water sample in test tube
4. place aproptiate pelet in tube depending on wether you are performing the dissolved oxygen, nitrates, or phosphates test
5. skake tube till pelet is disolved, in the case of the nitrates test insert pelet number 2 in to tube and continue to shake till disolved.
6. once pelet(s) are disolved wait five minutes then compare the color of the liquid in the tube to the apropriate slide and record result in journal.
7. repeat step 3 and then place test tube on to the turbidity slide and record result.
8. using pippete place water on to the slide of the refractometer, analyse and record result in journal
9. place the end of the fancy thermometer in to water and record the pH and temperature in your journal
10. record wind weather and wave observations in journal along with any other relavent information.
11. return to lab

Plankton part 1

Intro: The word Plankton comes from the word planktos meaning drifter as in that they can not swim against the current. Plankton can be anything from algae to a baby turttle. There are four ways to clasify plankton; what they eat, what color they are, their lifestyle, and their size. The two ways for plankton to obtain sustinance are by eating other plankton or by photosynthesis, plant plankton or those that eat by photosynthesis are called phytoplankton. The carniverous plankton or heterotropic, hetero meaning diferent, are called zooplankton, zoo meaning animal. The color of a plankton mostly aplies to algae or seaweed, there are many diferent colors ranging from the usual green to red or brown all the way to golden, blue green algae is the most important though because it produces ninety percent of our breathable oxygen. The lifestyle of a plankton may seem odd to classify by but it is very important. Some plankton only spend part of their lives as plankton, those are called meroplankton, mero meaning part, these are organisms like tutttles or larval fish. Holoplankton or plankton that spend their whole life as plankton are what we normaly thinkof when we hear plankton. The size of a plankton is very important because there is such a range. There are many groups for clasifying size so I will just mention a fuew. To be classified as a mega plankton they need to be at least 2mm across, this is the largest classification so even jellyfish that have 100 foot long tentacles fall in to this catagory. Another catagory is that of micro plankton thse plankton are fom 0.6 mm to 0.2 mm. The smallest catagory is that of ultra plankton from the size of 0.005 mm and smaller.

Beach Current graph

Beach transect graph

Beach profiling

Introduction:
Over time beaches change shape, they are not a static thing like rocks they ebb and flow, always transient and never certain. Many variables can affect the shape or 'profile' of a beach. One variable is the direction and strength of the wind because grains of sand are small and light enough to float away sort of like a dandelion puff. Another variable is the ocean, by that I mean the size and vigorousness of the waves, current directions in reference to the beach, and tides, tides play a big part in the shape of a beach because it changes how much of the beach there is above the water. There are countless variables but I will list just one more; storms, everyone who lives near a beach knows how it is almost like the sand retreats in to the ocean during a storm and then in the course of a couple months, depending on the severity of the storm, it slowly returns to the shore. Our specific site is currently recovering from a storm and also it is undergoing a conservation effort, the pacific whale foundation is in the process of restoring the dunes of the beach.

Procedure:
1. Collect all of your materials.
2. Go to your beginning point.
3. Record the date and the names of your team members on to the data sheet.
4. Place the end of the transect tape on the anchor point and extend tape to the foot of the beach.
5. Turn on GPS device and record beginning point coordinates on data sheet.
6. Record the directional reading of the compass on to the data sheet.
7. Weather the beach is gaining vertical height or losing it over the next meter place the rise pole on the higher point and the run pole on the lower point.
8. Make sure both poles are level and a meter apart using the horizontal portion of the run pole. If for some reason, there is not enough room for the poles to be a meter apart then make them as far apart as appropriate and record distance change on data sheet.
9. Record intersect point on the rise pole on appropriate section of data sheet.
10. Repeat steps 6 through 8 moving one meter closer to the beach each time, do so until the foot of the beach.
11. un-hook transect tape from anchor point, turn the handle of the transect tape and retract it.

Origins of Sand Lab part3

Conclusion:
My research question for this lab was, "What environmental characteristics make a beach biogenic or detrital?" I thought the answer would be, "I think that beaches with allot of coral in the water around it will be biogenic, while beaches with rocks in the water will be detrital. If I find coral at a biogenic beach and rock at a detrital beach then my hypothesis will be correct."
We found that all of the biogenic beaches had coral in the water but some of them also had rocks in the water. We did not find a true detrital beach, though we did find a combination of mostly detrital but still biogenic. The beach in question had a cinder cone on one side but some coral in the water. The answer to this lab is, yes, you need coral in the water for a beach to be biogenic but it takes more than just rocks in the water to make a beach detrital. I will now recite some possible sources of error that could have skewed the results. We did not go to a truly detrital beach so our comparison was incomplete. There was no control sample for the sand analysis so the information gained from the experiment might not have been consistent.

Origins of Sand Lab part3

Data Colection and Analysis

Big Beach:
sand color and characteristics; large with grains of white and black but mostly tan
surounding area; cinder cone on one side and reefs off shore
reaction; a good abount of crackling
conclusion; boigenic

Wailea Beach:
sand color and characteristics; very fine grains with a small amount of black and white grains but mostly tan
surounding area; rocks on either side and coral off shore
reaction; lots of fizing and bubbling
conclusion; biogenic

Black Sand Beach:
sand color and characteristics; rather round grains of mostly black but with grains of white
surounding area; cinder cone on one side
reaction; some crackling
conclusion; combination of biogenic and detrital

Origins of Sand Lab part2

Beach observations: April 11th

Big Beach: The sand; not uniform in color but is mostly tan, there are rather large (for sand)grains of white and rather small grains of black.
The area around the beach; there is a mosly dead reef off shore and a cinder cone on one side of the beach.

Wailea Beach: The sand; tan and fine with a rather even color, though there are small grains of black and white.
The area around the beach; lava rocks on either end of the beach, some coral off shore.

Origin of Sand Lab part1

Intro: There are two types of beaches; detrital and biogenic. Detrital is a beach that comes from rocks, here they are made from lava rocks so they are usually black or red. Biogenic beaches originate from organic sources like fish feces and dead coral. We will test if a beach is biogenic by testing for calcium carbonate by pouring vinegar in a sample. The chemical reaction that will ensue is as such; vinegar (acetic acid) + calcium carbonate ----> calcium acetate + water + carbon dioxide 2CH3COOH + CaCO3 ----> Ca(CH3COO)2 + H2O + CO2 .

Question: What enviormental characteristics make a beach biogenic or detrital?

H: I think that beaches with alot of coral in the water around it will be biogenic, while beaches with rocks in the water will be detrital. If I find coral at a biogenic beach and rock at a detrital beach then my hypothesis will be correct.

Materials: Journal
Writing implement
sample cups (2)
vinegar
pipette
transportation
appropriate clothing

Procedure: 1)drive to Waipuilani beach
2) collect sample in sample cup
3) record enviormental observations in journal
4) go to Oneuli beach
5) collect sample in sample cup 6) record enviormental observation in journal
7) go to lab
8) perform vinegar test on samples For your reference: vinegar (acetic acid) + calcium carbonate ----> calcium acetate + water + carbon dioxide 2CH3COOH + CaCO3 ----> Ca(CH3COO)2 + H2O + CO2
9) record results
10) make conclusion

Whale Lab continuation

My question was 'what type of pod is most frequent for whales to be in at diferent times in the season?' my hypothesis was that in the middle of the eason there would be more competition pods while late in the season there would be more mother/calf pods. As seen in the table above, as the season goes on there are more single adult and competition pods not mother/calf pods. I was incorrect in my hypothesis.

We had fun on the whalewatch and it was cool chillin with my friends. At one point everyone was clustered around one part of the boat because there was a whale swiming around nut i was just siting on my bench chilling out when i saw this grate breach i looked around and i was the only one who had seen it.

whale lab

Whales are very complex and mysterious animals and we still don't know all about them. Many people for many reasons come to Hawaii to see them. As Tiffany Kidder from the Kai Kanani said, "As the new generations of whales come in to adult hood the whale population becomes less scared of humans."(2010)

What type of pod is most frequent for whales to be in at different times in the season?

For first observation we went out to McGregor's point. For my partner(Lindsey) and I the observing went rather well, we saw many whales and completely filled our data sheet. My personal favorite part was working with my friend because she is fun to fork with and we were able to joke around and still get alot of work done. I would say that the most chalenging part is probably the fact that i forgot that we were going out side so i wore three inch heels and those of you that have been to McGrogors point you know that is a very bad place to wear heals because it is so rocky and un even. I love watching whales because it is so incredible to me that they can throw themselves in the air like they do.

Procedure:
0. record location and weather observations
1. find whale(s)
2. spot whale through clinometer and have buddie record angle
3. record all aspects outlined on data sheet
4. repeat for every whale (group)
5. once all whales recorded calculate distances